Earlier this month, the esteemed legacy publication Black Enterprise hosted its annual Black Men Xcel Summit. The gathering took place in Miami and convened a multitude of men from various professional backgrounds from October 11 to October 13. The highly-anticipated conference kicked off with the Xcel Awards, honoring trailblazers who’ve made remarkable impacts in their fields, including award-winning actor and producer Anthony Anderson. Throughout the three-day event, guests had the opportunity to partake in panel discussions geared toward wealth management, executive leadership coaching, and more. The summit not only serves as a haven for Black men to gain and hone in on professional tools to advance their careers but also an environment where they’re celebrated.
According to Alfred Edmond Jr., SVP and Editor-at-large of Black Enterprise, this aligns with the foundation of the historic media company.
“What is part of the legacy of Black Enterprise and our late founder, Earl G. Graves Sr., is that it is and has been, for most of our existence, probably the only media outlet that showcases Black men. There were other platforms where women in general and Black women, in particular, could be showcased on the cover, but most of the time, unless you were an athlete or entertainer, there were no Black men on magazine covers until Black Enterprise came along. Sometimes, we had athletes and entertainers, but we had executives, doctors, lawyers, and certainly entrepreneurs. I came to Black Enterprise in 1987, and I’ve always had a passion for the narrative of Black men not only being told but being told positively because the narrative was either invisible or denigrated.”
Since its inception, Black Men Xcel has long been a safe space for professional Black men from various walks of life, permeated by the themes of brotherhood and empowerment. It’s apparent through attendees’ perspectives, like author and mindset coach Chazz Scott. Scott served as a panelist in several sessions, from discussing his latest book, Success Starts Within: Achieve Your Potential through Radical Self-Care, to speaking on the importance of mental wellness. The founder of consulting firm Supra Mentem feels it’s essential to have spaces like this, where Black men are celebrated across multiple fronts.
“I feel like this is one of the few opportunities where Black men can come into one environment and celebrate Black excellence. I think that’s important because we’re all trying to come together to try and help each other in the areas of mental health, financial wellness, and emotional wellness. It’s so impactful because there aren’t many spaces like that. It’s also important to realize that we have resources of people that look like us that are on the same path. I think we forget that many people are on the same path when we’re the only Black person in the room, but when you walk into a space like this, it’s a great feeling when you aren’t the only one.”
In addition to the collective camaraderie of attendees and panelists, Black Men Xcel, at its core, is a container for dialogue and opportunities to enhance one’s professional journey. It’s something that Marvin Clark was incredibly excited about. Clark, the Southeast Commercial Banking Segment Head for Diverse Businesses at JP Morgan Chase, provided executive leadership one-on-one coaching hosted by the organization. Clark feels that it’s important to use his role to impart his wisdom to those who want to ascend in their careers.
“Every day, I mentor or talk to business owners one-on-one about how I’m going to help grow and scale their company. This is just another facet of that conversation. I think it’s important through my platform because of what I do. I lead the Southeast for diverse businesses in the commercial bank for JP Morgan Chase. I have 25 years of banking experience, and I’ve run across and talked to multiple business owners throughout the country where I facilitate and tailor one-on-one conversations to find opportunities to assist them in growing through their journey and looking for getting them to change their mindset, to think about things differently, to view the world differently. I think my ability to be agile has aided in those conversations that I’ve had with the individuals this week. I’ve connected with each of them through LinkedIn so I can share my network to help them grow and scale as well.”
While there’s an abundance of memorable moments to reflect upon, Robert Corion’s main takeaway from the experience was the power of collaboration. Corion, the Vice President of Business Operations for the Client Product Group of Dell Technologies, reflects fondly on a conversation with another attendee that illuminates the beauty of kinship.
“I ran into a gentleman who has been struggling to launch a product in Canada, and he’s been struggling because of the import and export laws and some other challenges around that. We casually talked about me being from Toronto and growing up there, and he expressed his challenge very casually. And I told him I have a good family friend who owns an import and export business in Canada, and I could make that connection for him. That conversation opened the door for him and could change his trajectory. This could actually allow him to hire more employees, hopefully, Black employees. I think that’s the power of just having a conversation and taking the time out to collaborate and be willing to help wherever we can. I see it happen in many different environments, so why not us?”
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